Why Do Supply Chains need an Effective Communication Plan?

25 April 2017

Effective
communication is a vital component to successful supply chain management, yet
an alarming amount of businesses have no official communication plan in place
to guide their employees. On top of this, supply chain managers are rarely
trained in communications and end up taking a very laissez faire attitude
towards the entire process.

To
understand why this is a problem, stop and consider the effects of bad
communication. The number one result is decreased efficiency through
wasted time, money and resources. Other effects include decreased worker
morale, public relation problems and missed opportunities for innovation, among
other things.

This
can easily be brushed aside under the assumption that there is nothing wrong
with your current communication methods, but the problem is that poor
communication can often take months or years to develop into a clearly visible
problem. Proactive managers can avoid this by adopting proven approaches
that ensure information flows efficiently to all stakeholders.

How Do You
Develop an Effective Communication Plan?

If
you want to ensure your organization avoids communication breakdowns, simply
follow the advice given below. This won’t replace a formal education on the
topic, but these time-tested solutions can place you significantly ahead of
those that do not follow these strategies.

Organize a
Communication Chain

A
chain of communication is as straightforward as it sounds, but it is important
to establish the expected flow of information within a business. The chain
can be as simple as the chain of command, but all members must understand
what is expected of them when they receive a message — including what messages
should be forwarded, who they should be forwarded to, and how they should be
delivered.

The
communication chain should allow for -- and encourage -- feedback. This means
the chain should promote multi-directional communication, facilitating the flow
of information up and down the chain of command. When workers feel that their
voice is being heard, morale tends to improve significantly. This has the additional
benefit of allowing managers to obtain insight into where their plans may
expect too much or where additional value can be obtained by expanding on a
project.

Break Down
Your Messages

Before
delivering a speech, sending an email, or even having a meeting with one of
your workers, you need to dissect the message you intend to give to ensure that
you are delivering it effectively. Ask yourself the following questions in
order to make sure you have developed the most compelling message possible.

- What Is
the Goal?

Communication
attempts should have a clear goal. Ask yourself what you desire the outcome of
the message to be. If you can’t articulate this to yourself in a sentence
or two, then the chances are pretty high that the people you are delivering the
message to will be left confused and unsure of what is expected of them.

Generally
speaking, messaging goals tend to fall into four different categories:
requesting action, delivering information, requesting information, and
congratulating teams or individuals. Many messages will have aspects of
multiple categories, but it is important to make sure that your main goal is
clear.

- What
is the Message?

Determining
the goal is only the beginning of crafting the message. The actual words used
matter more than you might expect. A message delivered with the wrong
words will fail to inspire action and oftentimes will go completely unnoticed.

Understanding
the significance of this is as simple as considering two different messages
that both are making the same request.

“You
have to stay late tonight.”

will
have a much worse response than:

“I
really appreciate the hard work you have been doing lately, we’re almost done
with this project and if we work a few extra hours this evening we can get this
done.”

- Who
Are the Recipients?

Determine
who needs to receive the message and make sure you have chosen the appropriate
chain to get the message to them. This requires taking the time to consider who
needs to be involved in order to achieve the goals you have identified at the
beginning.

When
considering the people you need to address, you also need to take into account
how separate groups may respond differently to the same message. The extra time
it takes to address each person or group individually may pay off exponentially
when it comes to the overall reception of your message.

- What
is the Best Delivery Method?

The
delivery method is also important. Some messages are very effective via certain
mediums while having little to no effect through others. Using email to inform
people about an upcoming meeting is a great idea, but emailing someone to let
them know that they are under-performing will not be solving any of your
problems.

Delivery
method also involves who will be delivering the message. It is important to
have messages delivered by people who the recipients will be receptive to.
Authority figures are often the obvious choice, but that doesn’t mean they are
always the right one. You can be creative here, but that doesn’t mean you can
avoid delivering bad news by having other people do it. That’s an
easy way to lose respect.

Measure and
Adapt

The
final step to developing a successful communication system is to measure how
successful you are at achieving the goals you identify. For some, you will
actually be able to get numbers relating to your target, such as when you wish
to get volunteers to sign up for a certain task. Other situations will not
allow specific measurements to be taken, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t
observe their effectiveness.

This
step is important as it allows you to adapt your communication techniques
based on what delivers the best results. Pay attention to what works and what
doesn’t, and keep making small adjustments along the way.

You’ll
be surprised at how much more efficient your business can become through simple
improvements to communication.

Contributed by: Rod Stout, Business Modelling Associates (BMA). BMA is the official distributor for River Logic’s Enterprise Optimizer® platform across Africa.

Disclaimer: The information and opinions expressed in this website and the Supply Chain Update newsletter in no way constitutes professional advice and does not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the editor and staff of Supply Chain Update or Vicenda.